How I lost 100 pounds while satisfying my love for cooking and keeping my foodie family happy

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I wish I knew where – if anywhere – I’d seen this recipe, but I have no idea. I vaguely remember making something similar years and years ago with tuna, and feeling like the tuna ruined it, but I can’t even remember if anything other than rice was common to this dish. All I know is that I’ve been wanting a rice side dish that wasn’t fried rice all week, and kind of just threw it together and hoped for the best.

It worked. The husband ate the leftovers (AKA tomorrow’s lunch) as seconds, much to my horror. It was tasty yet simple (absolute perfect for a Wednesday night where I have a night of lesson planning ahead of me) but I fear that if I don’t write it down, I’ll forget what I did and then never make it again. And that would be tragic.

To add to the happiness surrounding this side dish, it was far fewer calories than I’d anticipated – just 235 per serve, making it an awesome dinner with some lean meat and more veggies – we added grilled pork loin and broccoli, and thoroughly enjoyed it. This calorie count is for a yield of 5 serves; For almost exactly 300 calories, you can have it serve 4, but with the meat and veg, one fifth was perfect. And would have been a perfect amount and calorie count for lunch, too. Not that I’m bitter or anything…

In an oven proof skillet, add rice and stock and bring to the boil on stove. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until just tender. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Turn off the burner, place a tea towel over the skillet and firmly cover with a lid. Rest for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in another pan, heat oil over medium low heat. Add onions and cook for five minutes, until translucent. Add ginger and garlic and cook for a minute or so. Add zucchini and tomatoes, and cook until softened but not coloured. Set aside until rice is ready.

Stir vegetables through the rice. Mix in the parmesan and egg until fully incorporated, and smooth down with a spoon or spatula.

Season well and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until golden and firm.

It’s always great looking for fresh, new snacks that get me happy to be cooking and ready for the week ahead. Bliss balls, veggie muffins, any little thing I can munch on mid-morning to get me through the work day, that not just satisfies my hunger, but also my desire for yummy, interesting food. I’m a creature of habit, but don’t like eating the same thing over and over again.

Which brings me to these cookies whose deliciousness belies the nutritional punch that they pack in every bite. Crunchy, sweet, seedy, oaty, and just salty, they’re a fantastic work snack for only 90 calories apiece (for a yield of 30 cookies). Granted, they’re not very large, but one of these and a piece of fruit or veg, and you’ll be good to go for ages. You could also make them 1.5 times larger and cook them a few minutes longer, because 135 calories for a substantial snack is nothing too terrible, either. I just like them little and cute, I guess! I used Kodiak power cake mix, and highly recommend it for both flavour and added protein, but wholemeal flour works well, too.

Ingredients

225g raw pumpkin, chopped roughly

1tbs butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup sultanas

1/3 cup pepitas

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup rolled oats

2 cup Kodiak Power Cake mix or wholemeal flour

Method

Steam pumpkin for 10 minutes, until very tender. Drain, and mash with butter until very smooth. Allow to cool.

Preheat oven to 180C and line baking trays with non stick baking paper.

Add sugar, butter, egg and vanilla to pumpkin mixture and beat until smooth.

Why did I never think to do this?! Why did I inhabit this planet for 33 years without this?!

I LOVE stir fry, we eat some version of it weekly. I LOVE dumplings. My whole family would subsist on nothing but pot stickers, xiao long bao and wontons, given half the chance. Combining the two was so obvious. So perfect. So… not something I’d ever considered until I came across a recipe from taste.com.au. I’ve made it a couple of times, and never the same way twice: different dumplings, different veggies, different ratios. The sauce is amazing, and that always stays the same, but the beauty of stir fry is that you use what you have. So this recipe is a guideline, a serving suggestion at best. But a truly delicious suggestion that I urge everyone to make their own. I’ve made these with various flavours, shapes and styles of dumplings with success, but find pot stickers are the hardiest, and therefore, best to toss around. But substitute away… it’s all good. One day I’ll be super smug and use homemade dumplings (I went to a funky class months ago, and so far have done nothing with that experience), but I’m absolutely not above throwing in some good quality frozen pieces.

This meal serves 4, and is about 350 calories per serve. Of course, that’s hard to gauge when you change everything each time, but if you stick to the spirit of the recipe, it’s a safe bet.

You’ll want everything ready to go before you start. Chop all vegetables and place in one large bowl. Combine oyster sauce, sweet chilli sauce and Shaoxing wine in a jug and set aside.

In a large frypan with a lid, heat 1tbs oil over medium heat. Add dumplings and cook one side without turning or stirring. Carefully pour water into pan (it will sizzle like mad… I often turn the heat down to low because it freaks me out a little), cover with lid and steam for 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with slotted spoon and keep warm (this is a quick method – throwing a clean teatowel over it should do the trick).

Heat remaining oil in a hot wok (you can use a frypan, in fact I have most of the times I’ve cooked this, but since getting one recently, I cannot recommend a wok highly enough!) and add all the vegetables, ginger and garlic. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes, until veggies are tender but not mushy.

Pour the sauce over the veggies and give a good stir.

Add the spinach and dumplings and turn gently until the dumplings are coated with sauce and the spinach is wilted.

Oh, look! Another soup! It’s cooling down here now, and I’m swapping my salads for soups as my seasonal staples. I’ve been making this soup for years, and it’s an absolute winner. I mean, chicken and corn soup isn’t anything overly special, but the sweet chilli sauce – such a simple addition to such a simple dish – makes such a difference to the versions I ate growing up. Adding a pumpkin lemonade scone for dipping makes this a delightfully delicious light meal that will leave you feeling like you’ve partaken in something special. Yet, it’s a cinch to make, and so very budget friendly. A serve of each sits right at 400 calories, making it the perfect winter warmer.

Sweet Chilli Chicken and Corn Soup

Serves 4 at 300 calories per serve

Ingredients

1.25 litres chicken stock

2 garlic cloves, minced

1tsp minced ginger

1 onion, finely diced

420g can creamed corn

200g sweetcorn kernels

300g chicken thigh fillets, skin removed

2tsp soy sauce

1tbs sweet chilli sauce

2 eggs whites, beaten

Salt and pepper, to serve

Method

Bring stock to the boil. Add garlic, ginger, corn, onions and chicken to the stock, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until chicken is mostly cooked through.

Remove chicken from the stock, and using two forks, shred meat. Return to stock and resume simmering (uncovered) for five minutes or until cooked through.

Stir through the soy and sweet chilli sauces. In a thin stream, slowly pour in the egg whites, whisking the soup to incorporate evenly. Cook for another minute, then serve with a generous crack of black pepper and salt to taste

Pumpkin Scones

makes 16 at 100 calories each (they freeze really well)

Ingredients

300g pumpkin (weight without skin and seeds)

2 1/2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon maldon salt flakes

1/2 cup lemonade (Schweppes works well as it’s not too sweet)

1/2 cup thickened cream

1tbs milk

Method

Steam pumpkin until very tender, drain and cool.

Preheat oven to 220C and prepare a tray with non-stick baking paper (I give it a little spray with oil anyway, because I have trust issues).

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Combine cream and lemonade. Pour into flour, and using a flat blade knife, mix to combine. Don’t overmix, but do ensure the flour is incorporated. The dough will be rather wet and sticky.

Using a tablespoon or, better yet, a soup spoon, dollop spoonfuls of mixture on the prepared trays, shaping them into neat rounds with only a few millimetres of space between them.

Brush with milk and bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly on the tray. Serve with soup as they are, or spread with just a little butter or (as I tend to do) cottage cheese.

Like so many others – if social media is anything to go by – I’m somewhat struggling to eat well during this time of social isolation and lack of routine. This week was particularly hard for a multitude of reasons, but while those reasons are understandable (a crash of emotions, a huge change to my routine, or what passes for one these days, into one that is significantly more stressful, and one which I find even more challenging than it’s predecessor… my husband’s birthday… finally being allowed out to see people… the list goes on), they’re irrelevant. The fact of the matter is, I feel so much better both mentally and physically when I eat well and exercise. The dog helps me with the latter, but I have to take responsibility for the former. Of course, that’s not about restricting food, it’s just about upping the plants and being mindful of what I’m eating and how it’s affecting me. This week I’ve felt slumpy and grumpy, and at least some of that feeling like crap is related to the fact that I’ve been eating like crap. There’s a chicken/egg element to it, too, but it’s a cycle that isn’t too hard to break once you identify it.

Which brings me to this soup. Not an atonement (because I didn’t do anything wrong – food isn’t a moral compass), not a punishment (food is a blessing, NEVER a punishment!!), just a step back into what makes my tastebuds, mind and body feel good: simple, delicious, nutritious food. A kickstart out of the doldrums and back into mindfulness to all aspects of my life. Adapted from Smitten Kitchen, it is a bowlful of flavour and comfort that tastes divine, fills you up, makes your house smell like heaven, and brings some sensory interest to a very strange yet boring world. All for 10 minutes of easy prep, 20 minutes of simmering away, and a handful of really simple, nourishing ingredients that you probably have stashed already (you can definitely use frozen cauliflower for this). At 211 calories a bowl, it’s also a very low calorie option, perfect if (again, like me) you’re leaning on bread for a little emotional support right now. I can attest that an English Muffin with just a smear of cottage cheese is a perfect companion to this soup.

Serves 4, rather generously

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds

1 medium onion, peeled and diced

2 baby chat potatoes (about 200g), washed and diced

2 teaspoons minced ginger

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (more to taste)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 small cauliflower

400g tinned tomatoes

3 cups vegetable stock

Salt and pepper, to taste (I ditched the salt and went to town with the pepper)

Yoghurt (coconut if you’re keeping it vegan) to serve

Method

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add cumin and fenugreek seeds, and wait a few seconds for them to pop.

Immediately add onion and potato, and stir to coat with seeds. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook for 5 minutes.

Reduce heat to low and add cauliflower and spices. Cook, stirring, for a further 5 minutes, ensuring the vegetables are evenly coated.

Stir in stock and tomatoes, season, and bring to the boil. Reduce back to low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until everything is very tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Use a stick blender to blitz to desired consistency. I like to blend about half way to smooth – I like some texture, so ensure that tiny bits of florets and at least a few small cubes of potato are left intact.

I love a good two for one deal, and in this case, it’s a delicious deal that I’ll be keeping on rotation. Fluffy baked sweet potatoes with the flesh scooped out and put aside for tomorrow morning, topped with a concoction of tomatoes, beans, and smoked ham, baked to perfection under a sprinkle of cheese – yes please! And the next day, taking the scooped flesh, mixing it with the leftover bean mixture, frying it to gnarly goodness and topping it with a runny egg is the best way to start any day – especially during the blah-ness of Covid-19 quarantine.

I have served this with almond-crusted beef schnitzel for a more decadent dinner, but it seriously is delicious and filling enough to work as a meal on its own. As a stuffed potato, this recipe is 327 calories. The bubble and squeak with 2 runny eggs clocks in at 340 calories. Very reasonable for a superb breakfast!

Serves 4, with enough to make a B&S to serve 2-3 (calories counted at 3 serves)

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes (about 600g total)

1tbs + 1tsp olive oil

1 red onion, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

400g diced tomatoes (tinned or fresh)

1tbs barbecue sauce (a smoky one is great here!)

2tsp dijon mustard

chilli powder, to taste

400g can 3 bean mix, drained

100g ham, chopped

1/4 cup grated cheese

fried eggs, to serve with bubble and squeak

Method – stuffed potatoes

Preheat oven to 230.

Wash and halve sweet potatoes lengthways, prick with a fork and rub with one tablespoon of olive oil. Place on baking tray, cover with foil, and bake for 45 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a pan over low heat. Add onions and carrots and sweat for 8 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for one minute.

Stir tomatoes, mustard, sauce and chilli into onion mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water if drying out too much, although this rarely happens over a low heat.

Stir in beans and ham, and cook for 10 minutes, allowing mixture to thicken.

Remove cooked potatoes from oven (do not turn oven off), and allow to cool enough to handle. Scoop flesh into a bowl (cool and refrigerate for later), leaving a 1cm thick layer of flesh in the skin.

He’s always angling for that next seafood meal, so I made him crab cakes, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce for breakfast. A worthy birthday breakfast for my favourite little foodie.

But kids always have that knack of keeping you humble, right?

“It’s okay that you didn’t make the English muffins from scratch this time, you’re still a good mum.”

Thanks, dude.

Despite the glaring failure of store bough English muffins, the rest was seriously good. And because all the components came from a range of sources, I’m collating them here for next time. Something tells me there will be a next time. Probably 365 days from now.

I’m not even thinking about calories here. It’s not an everyday kind of breakfast, so let’s just leave it “many”.

Aside from resting the crab cakes for 30 minutes, this only takes about 15 minutes of active cooking time, and can easily be coordinated together (even for me… and I usually hate cooking breakfast because I freak about the timing). Might I suggest:

Prepare the crabcakes and rest in the fridge

After 30 minutes, heat the pans for crabcakes, eggs and hollandaise – remember, you want the crab cakes pan hot and the other two just at a simmer.

Steps 1-3 of Hollandaise

Fry the crab cakes, while still stirring the hollandaise

Pop the crab cakes in the oven

Step 4 of the hollandaise

Between stirs of the hollandaise, poach your eggs

Remove sauce from heat – steps 5-6 – and toast your muffins

Assemble

Serves 4

Ingredients

Crab cakes

450g crab meat (from a can is fine, if like me, you didn’t win the lotto last night)

2tbs mayonnaise

1 egg, beaten

4tbs dried breadcrumbs

1tbs sweet chilli sauce

2tsp dried parsley

1tsp dijon

salt and pepper, to taste

2tsp olive oil

hollandaise sauce

2 egg yolks

1.5tsp cold water

1.5tsp lemon juice

100g butter, melted

salt and pepper

pinch cayenne pepper

poached eggs

Water, to come up a few inches in a wide pan

2tbs white vinegar

4 eggs

2 English muffins, split, toasted and buttered, to serve

Method – Crab Cakes

Drain crab meat (if canned), and place in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix all other ingredients except for oil. Gently fold into the crab meat, being careful not to overmix.

Shape into four flat patties. Mixture will be a little wet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up a bit.

Preheat oven to 180C.

On the stove, heat oil in an oven-safe frypan over medium-high heat. While you’re at it, start simmering the water for the eggs and the water in the double boiler for the hollandaise.

Carefully transfer crab cakes to pan and fry for 2 minutes, until the underside is golden. Very gently (honestly, they’re a bit fragile) turn and cook for a further two minutes. Should one break a little when you turn it, you will be able to reshape it.

Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for about 10 minutes, while you make the rest of the components.

Method- Hollandaise Sauce

In the top bowl of a double boiler (off the heat), whisk the yolks, water and lemon juice until pale and frothy. Actually, I use a rubber spatula, rather than a whisk because I hate the sound of metal on metal, so pick your weapon.

Set the bowl over the base, with 2.5 inches of water simmering (definitely not boiling!) over low heat.

Stir constantly and vigorously over this low heat for two minutes. (If the eggs start to scramble, immediately place them over a bowl of very cold water and continue to whisk the lumps out. Strain the eggs, pour back into the double boiler, and continue with the method. If this doesn’t work, you’ll have to restart.)

Whisk in the butter very slowly – a bit at a time. Continue to whisk vigorously for another minute or two, until thick and glossy.

Remove the entire double boiler from the heat and separate the two pans while you cook the eggs (otherwise the eggs will continue to cook and will scramble). Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.

You can leave for a short while, but once the water is no longer simmering hot, placing the sauce back over the water pan will keep the sauce warm and smooth while you finish up.

Method – Poached Eggs

Add vinegar to a wide pan with enough water to reach a few inches up the side, and bring to a simmer.

Crack each egg into a deep saucer or teacup/espresso demi-tasse, taking care not to break the yolk. One egg at a time, create a small whirlpool in the water – just large enough for one egg – and gently slide the egg into the vortex.

Simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Bringing it all together

Butter your toasted muffins, top with crab cake, egg and sauce. Season with salt and pepper.

Ok, I know these don’t look like much, and that rissoles are hardly the height of haute cuisine, but I also know that these humble meatballs are deceptively delicious, and deserve a special mention on this blog. I’ve been making these since… um… well, I remember feeding these to my eldest as a baby (I probably omitted the sweet chilli, but with how much Tabasco he puts on everything now, maybe not), and he turns 12 tomorrow. So, definitely very early in my cooking ventures. And they NEVER fail to please a crowd. They really don’t look particularly thrilling, but the Asian flavours from the sweet chili and oyster sauces give a flavour and texture that are just sublime. I actually forgot about them for a few years, then found a typed up recipe in a Google Drive folder, and now they’re enjoying a much deserved revival in our household.

Unlike a lot of rissoles, which are cooked in a fair whack of oil and use fatty beef mince (not that I have a problem with beef mince!), these are really light, and are full of vegetables. They clock in at just 100 calories apiece, which is quite respectable for a decent sized rissole, and when you add a salad, you get an amazing light meal that feels so much more special than the (almost no) effort that goes into making them. They’re also great as sliders with Asian salad or slaw, or cold the next day. Adults love them. Kids love them. Fat 10 month old babies love them. They’re the ultimate family favourite.

I had every intention of making a tomato and meatball soup today, I really did. But when push came to shove, I just could not be bothered rolling meatballs. Besides, right now, the idea of squishing other peoples’ food around in my hands sounds tone deaf, all things considered. But really, I just couldn’t be bothered, let’s be honest.

Instead, I dumped everything in one pot, at the advice of Nagi at Recipe Tin Eats. This isn’t her exact recipe – I upped the veggie intake, and cut back on the risoni a little, but the spirit of her recipe is there. And it’s perfect for those CBF kinds of nights. The whole ordeal took maybe 20 minutes, it’s made on staples/stuff I found in my fridge and cabinets (again, perfect for Corona-geddon), was tasty and comforting, and was gobbled up by everyone. It’s not like usual bolognese recipe, but the benefit of that is that you could pretty much throw anything into it and have it come up a winner. It’s one of those magical recipes. So I’m writing it down so that I don’t forget it!

Nagi’s recipe clocked in at 484 calories; mine is 400. Either way, it’s better than takeaway!

Ingredients

1 brown onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

200g mushrooms, sliced

500g lean mince

700ml passata

2tbs Worcestershire sauce

3 cups chicken stock

2tsp dried parsley

2tsp dried oregano

1tsp dried thyme

1tsp dried basil

1tsp sweet paprika

cayenne pepper, to taste

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 cup risoni/orzo

60g baby spinach

salt and pepper, to taste

Grated parmesan cheese, to taste

Method

Add onion, garlic and mushrooms to a non stick pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until vegetables are soft and golden.

Brown mince with onion mixture, breaking it up as it cooks.

Stir in passata, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, stock and zucchini. Bring to a simmer, add risoni and stir to distribute evenly.

Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the risoni from sticking to the bottom. As you get closer to the ten minute mark, you may need to stir more frequently.

Looking for something quick and easy to make? Something that could be a meal or a snack, while clocking in at less that 100 calories (93 to be exact)? Something that uses up the sad veggies dwelling in the bottom of your fridge, can be eaten on the run with one hand, are low carb and high protein, and are bursting with veggie goodness?

Well, look no further.

Looking for something quick and easy to make? Something that could be a meal or a snack, while clocking in at less that 100 calories (93 to be exact)? Something that uses up the sad veggies dwelling in the bottom of your fridge, can be eaten on the run with one hand, are low carb and high protein, and are bursting with veggie goodness?

Well, look no further.

I mean, you could; the internet is full of recipes for egg bites/muffins/mini quiches. But if you’re here… well, it makes perfect sense to look no further. These muffins tick all the boxes.

The only caveat to these is that you MUST use paper cases. Unless losing half your muffin to the bottom of the muffin pan is your thing, of course. Trust me. They stick. But apart from that, they’re so simple, and not at all labour intensive – even making them after a long day of work isn’t as harrowing as it sounds.

I like to make 6 at a time – they’re not going to keep for much more than that. No one wants slimy eggs as they’re running out the door!

Ingredients

6 eggs

125g cherry tomatoes, cut into eights

100g mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup broccoli, finely chopped

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 180C, and line a muffin pan with 6 paper cases.

Over medium heat, cook onion, mushrooms and broccoli until onion is translucent – about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, crack eggs into a large bowl, and beat well. Stir in cherry tomatoes.

Add cooked vegetables, and mix to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Evenly distribute mixture into the paper cases. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and firm.